News & Events

Blog Post: Half of All Americans Don’t Have $400 to Spare

April 13, 2017

Following the Aspen Institute Summit on Inequality & Opportunity, Commonwealth’s Executive Director Tim Flacke shared thoughts on how our work is expanding opportunity and addressing inequality. Aspen Institute has posted Tim’s piece on their blog, addressing the problem that many Americans don’t have $400 to spare in case of an emergency.

Commonwealth has pioneered a variety emergency savings features to address that exact problem, such as Prize-Linked Savings products like Prize Savings and Save to Win. Our solutions aim to both shift systems – policies that benefit consumers, and financial tools that serve customers’ needs – and cultivate the agency of individuals to act within those systems.

Most people make the best financial choices they can, given the landscape in which they operate. This is especially true for people with limited incomes, who are often savvy, creative money managers, highly practiced at finding strategies to keep all the proverbial balls in the air. But too often the financial-services landscape around vulnerable people is barren, or filled with landmines. Poor options rule out good choices.